Motor for tree-felling machines.



P. R. KRAMER.

MOTOR FOR TREE FELLING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 13, 1912.

Patented Feb. 3, 1914.

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h mw mun- M wh P. R. KRAMER. MOTOR FOR TREE FELLING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.13, 1912.

1,085,814. Patented Feb. 3, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cO..WXsHlNGToN. D. c.

PHILLIP R. KRAMER, OF BAY CITY, MICHIGAN.

MOTOR FOR TREE-FELLING MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 3,1914.

Original application filed April 11, 1912, Serial No. 689,961. Divided and this application filed August 13,

To all w/zomit may concern Be it known that I, PHILLIP R. KiznMER, citizen of the United States, residing at Bay City, in the county of Bay and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Motors for Tree- Felling Machines, of which the following is a specification. V

This invention relates to tree-felling machinery, and has special reference to the motor for driving the saw, the present application being a division of an application filed by me April 11., 1912, Serial No. 689,961.

The object of the present invention is to provide a motor which may be easily and quickly moved from point to point as the trees are successively felled and which may be easily manipulated so as to hold the saw to its work.

The invention is fully illustrated in the accompanying drawings and consists in certain novel features which will be hereinafter first fully described and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the annexed drawings: Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved tree-felling machine showing it arranged to cut down a tree; Fig. 2 is an elevation of the engine on a larger scale with some parts in section, the view being taken at a right angle to Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a detail view of the engine cylinder; Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views, of modified forms of the engine support; Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the handlereceiving socket.

In carrying out my invention, I employ an engine of the internal combustion type having a crank case or base consisting of a lower member 1 and an upper member 2 which are secured together by bolts 3, inserted through meeting flanges 4, as clearly shown and will be readily understood. The lower member 1 of the crank case is constructed with a depending bracket 5, having rings or cars 6 formed thereon to receive a supporting post or pin 7, which has a tapered or pointed lower end 8 adapted to rest in a cup or socket 9, which may be secured to a board 10 or a skid or other convenient base. The motor will thus be supported so that it may be given a slight rocking motion as may be demanded by the work to be done, while at the same time slipping of the engine will be prevented The cup 9 is intended for use on ground which is approximately level, but it frequently happens that the trees grow in ground which is very uneven or upon the sides of hills, as is well known, and in order to support the motor so that the saw will cut squarely across the tree upon such uneven ground, I provide the socket or support shown in Fig. 4. This support consists of a base 11, having upstanding lugs 12 between which is pivotally mounted. a sleeve or ring 13, to which is connected a cup or socket proper 14 by means of a pivot pin 15 inserted through mating perforated lugs or ears 16, as shown. It will be readily understood that this construction permits a universal adjustment of the support so that the skid or board or other base to which the support is secured may be placed upon ground having a pronounced inclination, and the motor supported in a vertical position, so that the saw projecting therefrom in a plane at right angles thereto will produce a horizontal cut in and through the tree.

Conditions may be such that it will be necessary to adjust the motor through a considerable vertical range and when this is necessary, I employ the sleeve 0r thimble 17, which is shaped to fit around the post 7 and engage the socket 9 or 14 and is clamped securely to thepost 7 by a collar 18 fitted around its upper end and equipped with a set-screw or clamping bolt 19.

Upon the upper member 2 of the crank case of the engine, I secure or form bosses or bearing brackets 20, in which is journaled a crank shaft 21 having a crank 22 at one end. This crank 22 is connected by a link 23 to an oscillating bar 24, pivotally connected at its upper end 25 to the engine cylinder 26 and having its lower end equipped with a stud or pin 27. A pitman 28vis provided at one end with a U-shaped member or hook 29 adapted to engage over the stud 27, the said hook or member 29 having a swiveled connection with the pitman whereby the pitman may be operated in a vertical plane to cut through a tree and then given a partial turn so that the saw will be arranged at a right angle to its former position to cut through the fallen' log. The opposite end of the pitman is pivotally attached to a cross head 36 which is slidably mounted upon parallel guides 38-,- and an" oscillatory saw holder or plate 39 is pivotally secured upon the upper side of the cross head. The saw 41 is rigidly secured upon the upper side of this oscillatory block or saw holder 39, and the parallel guides 38 have their ends nearer the motor inserted through and rigidly secured to the sleeves or straps 43 which constitute a portion of the saw support, the cross head being constructed to slide on said guides. Between the guides, a larger tube or bar 4% is inserted in and secured rigidly to the sleeves, blocks or straps t3, and the opposite end of said bar at is fitted over a cylindrical arm projecting from a casting or bracket 46 which is zulapted to [it against the under side of a bracket. 48 at the lower end of the bracket 5 on the engine frame. A suitable collar it) is provided to clamp the said bar 4% firmly upon thecylindrical arm or projection in its adjusted. position. The casting or bracket '16 is adapted to fit snugly against the underside of the bracket 48, which is preferably integral with the lower end of the member and through the said bracket 46 is formed a slot through which may pass the supporting bolt or rod. Recesses are provided in the upper side of the bracket 46 to receive dowel pins {at depending from the bracket 4.8 and thereby prevent relative twisting of the said brackets, as will be readily understood.

The bracket to is held to the bracket e8 by a sustaining rod rotatably mounted in the bracket 48 and a guide 48 on the engine cylinder and held against dropping by nuts 56 mounted on the rod and engaging the upper surface of the bracket 48, as clearly shown in F 1 and 2. The lower end of the supporting bar or rod is formed with a T-head 57 adapted to pass through the slot in the bracket i6 and engage the under face of said bracket to thereby hold the same in its raised position. as will be readily understood. The said bar is equipped with a handle at its upper extremity, whereby when it is desired to release the saw, the rod may be given a quarter turn to bring the T- head 57 into alinen'ient with the slot, whereupon thesaw support will'at once drop. If the hook member 29 be now lifted from its engagementwit-h the stud 27, the saw and its support will be entirely free of the motor, which may be then carried to another point.

The crank case or base of the engine is preferably formed of aluminum, so as to reduce the weight to a minimum and the cylinder 26 will be preferably formed of iron and provided with a flange 72, through which and a similar flange 73 at the upper end of the base, bolts 74 are inserted to secure the cylinder in its proper position. The cylinder will have a sleeve-like extension which will fit into the upper member 20f the base .or crank case, so that the engine will reinaii'i'steady when in use. The engine will be preferably air-cooled and for this purpose flanges 75 are provided on and. around the cylinder, and the gasolene tank 76 will be supported above the cylinder and communicate through any suitable conductor with a carburetor, supported upon the engine in the usual manner.

The carburetor and the conductor connecting the same with the gasolene tank may be of any preferred or well known oonstructkui. and I have omitted the same from the drawings to prevent confusion of the parts. The gasolene tank 76 will be supported above the cylinder by a tube or post 78 rising from the cylinder and passing through the tank to be secured thereto by any convenient means, the lower end of the tube or post being clamped within a collar 79 on the cylinder. The post 78 is provided at its upper end with a plurality of sockets or hollow bosses 80, one of which projects upwardly and receives ahandle 81. The remaining sockets or hollow bosses are disposed laterally and adapted to receive a handle 82, as shown. Then the device is in use to fell a tree, the operator by grasping the handle 81 and pressing down on the same holds the engine to its support and by pulling backwardly on the handle 82 holds the saw to its work. lVhen the saw has advanced through the tree to such an extent that the felling wedge may be inserted or the tree begins to fall, the saw and its support is disconnected from the engine in the manner previously described, after which the handle 81 is released and engaged in one of the lateral sockets, so that the operator and an assistant may quickly move the engine to a point out of the way of the falling tree. It is to be understood, of course,that a handle may be perinrniently secured in each of the lateral sockets. so that the fraction. of time otherwise needed for the shifting of the upright handle from the vertical socket to the lateral socket will be saved. It will also be noted that one of the lateral sockets is disposed at an acute angle to the adjacent socket. if there should be no tree or other object convenient against which to rest the engine when it is not working, the handle 81 may be inserted in this socket and the two handles will then form a prop to engage the ground and support the upper end of the engine.

It will be understood, of course, that the engine is permitted to rest when the saw is not at work so as to avoid the labor incident to frequently starting the engine, the driving shaft being disconnected from the transmission crank shaft 22 so that the oscillatory bar 2%. will not be in motion when it is desired todisconnect the saw. To acconr plish this result, I provide the following mechanism. The crank shaft 83 of the en gine is extended from the crank case and is eopuipped with a flywheel in the usual manner. A hollow pinion having a grooved collar 86 formed on one end is slidably mounted on the driving crank shaft, and-the said grooved collar is engaged by a yoke or fork ST fulcrumed on an offset 88 on the crank case and adapted to be operated hv a lever 89 rising from and rigid with its fulcrum, the said lever 89 being indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The-pinion 85 fits over and is keyed to a sleeve 90 encircling the crank shaft and provided at its outer end with an expanded hollow head 91 within which are mounted shoes 92 adapted to slide longitudinally of the said head and held to the hub 93 of the fly wheel S lby screws or similar retaining devices at. The hub 93 has a tiared inner end presenting a beveled face 97), and the outer end of the hollow pinion S5 is similarly beveled, as indicated at 90. Pivoted upon the fly wheel in brackets 97 secured thereto are a series of angle levers 98 having their inner shorter ends bearing upon the shoes or clutch members 92 between the said shoes or clutch members and the iiy wheel, as clearly shown in Fig. The outer or longer arms of these angle. levers extend past the expanded head 91 of the sleeve 90 and have their free ends turned inwardly to bear upon the end of the hollow pinion 85. It will thus be readily seen that when the pinion S5 is moved along the crank shafttoward the fiy wheel, the conical or beveled end 96 thereof will ride under the free ends of the levers 98 and throw the said levers radially outward so that the inner shorter arms of the same will bear against the shoes or clutch members 92 and move the same away from the fly wheel toward the flared end of the hub 93 whereupon the said shoes will be caused to frictionally engage the head 91 of the sleeve 90 and clamp the said sleeve to the hub of the fly Wheel. As pinion S5 is keyed to the sleeve 90, the motion of the fly wheel will then be transmitted directly to the sleeve 90 and through the same to the pinion.

Above the driving shaft, the bosses or bearing brackets 20 are formed on the base of the engine and the transmission crank shaft 21 is journaled in the said bosses or brackets as previously stated. Direct-1y over the driving crank shaft, a stub-shaft 99 is journaled in one of the bosses 20 and this stub-shaft is equipped with a gear wheel 100 and a pinion 101, the gear wheel 100 meshing with the pinion 85 and the pinion 101 meshing with a gear wheel 102 on the crank shaft 21. It will thus be seen that after the engine is started, if the lever 89 be thrown outward, the sleeve 90 and pinion 85 will be clamped to and consequently rotate with the driving shaft. Motion will be imparted to the described train of gearing by the pinion 85, the crank shaft 21 consequently being rotated and the bar 24: oscillated through the connection of the crank 22 and the link 23. The saw will thus be reciprocated so as to perform its work and it is obvious that the described train of gearing reduces speed so that the shaft 21 will rotate more slowly than the shaft 83 and the saw will be actuated at the proper speed for most satisfactory results. When the saw is to be discon nected and the engine moved to another point, the lever 89 is thrown inwardly toward the engine cylinder and the pinion 85 thus shifted from the levers 98 so that the shoes 92 will be released from their engagement with the head of the sleeve 90. The shaft 21 will then come to rest without stopping the driving shaft 83.

It will be noted that in my improved apparatus, all the gearing is mounted directly upon and carried by the engine so that when the engine is shifted from point to point, the

gearing will be shifted with the engine and the members of the gearing will retain their proper relative positions. The time required to connect the engine with the saw or disconnect it therefrom is consequently reduced to a minimum and the labor involved in such operations also greatly lessened. Moreover, the arrangement brings all of the operating parts into compact form in proximity to the engine cylinder so that the motor may be set up in a very contracted space and successfully operated.

What I claim is 1. In a tree felling machine, the combination of an engine having a vertically disposed cylinder, supporting means for the engine, a depending post attached to said supporting means and extending downward in line with the axis of the engine, a post extending upward from the engine in line with its axis, handles upon the upper end of the post, and a fuel tank mounted upon and surrounding the post.

2. In a tree felling machine, the combination with an engine, an o-scillatable vertical support therefor at the lower end of the same, handles at the upper end of the engine whereby it may be oscillated, a reciprocating member operatively connected to the engine to be driven thereby, a cross head guide, a connecting rod coacting therewith, a slidably detachable connection between the connecting rod and said operating member, and a manually detachable connection between the cross head guide and the engine.

3. In a tree felling machine, the combination of a vertically disposed engine, a plurality of handle sockets carried by the upper end of the engine and arranged in fixed relation thereto, one of said sockets being vertically disposed, the remainder of the sockets being disposed at an angle to the ver tical axis of the engine, handles engaging the said sockets, and a support-ing member depending from the lower end of the engine and adapted to permittilting of tlie engine in any-direction.

i. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination with an engine, a post extending vertically downward from theengine and having a tapered extremity and handles extending out from the engine at its upper end, of a base having a tapered socket to receive the extremity 05E the post, said socket permitting the post to be rotated and to be oscillated.

In a tree felling machine, the combination with an engine, a post torming part 'lhrizeoi and whereon it is supported, an actuating ineinber (meratively connected to the engine to be driven thereby, a cross head, a ronneeting rod, a connection between the con necting rod and the actuating member detarhable upon an upward movementof the engine and its post, and a manually actu atable member detachablj locking the end of the cross head to the engine.

6. In a tree felling machine,an engine, a post depending therefrom and iupon which the engine is supported, a bracket depending from the engine, a cross head, a manually operable locking rod detachably engaging the cross head to the bracket, an actuating member pivotally supported at one end upon the engine and having a wrist pin at its so other end, and a connecting rod having a downward-1y extending loop open at its lower end and engaging the said wrist pin and detachable from the wrist pin upon an upward movement thereof. 3'

7. In a tree felling machine, the combination with an engine, a post extending rertica'l-l-y down-ward from the engine and having a tapered extremity and handles extending out from the engine at its upper .end, of 40 a base having a socket member ,pivotally mounted upon the base for movement in a plurality of directions, said socket member having a tapered socket therein adapted to it the lower end of the post. 45

In testimony whereof I my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN E. K'JNNANE, ANNA M. DONOUGH.

fiepina of "this patent may be obtained for .fi've cents 109.0 11, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. -IWaehington, D. C. 

